Losing Hope
by Chocolate X My Mouth
Summary: Scott Lang was an optimistic guy. However... this is just something he can't seem to see the bright side of. He's not only lost hope... he's lost his Hope. And its taking a toll on him. As he joins forces with the Avengers, he's got one mission on his mind: get back his lost Hope. Just do that... Whatever it takes... (LangDyne angst anyone?) (Chapters: 1/3)


**Heyyyyyy guess who came up with the title for this story?**

**My mom. Yep. She's a bigger Avengers fan than me, somehow. And we were talking about Endgame, and I said, "Man, Scott really looks like he's lost all hope..." and she turns to me and says, and I QUOTE: "...He lost Hope, too."**

**Thanks mom. You broke my heart. This one's for you. XD**

* * *

Scott Lang was an optimistic guy.

And really and truthfully - he had every reason not to be. He had been in prison, gotten divorced _while _he was in prison, got sent straight back to jail after he got out, and then was put on house arrest for two years - not to mention going to the Quantum Realm, and almost not coming back!

...But he chose to look on the bright side.

He had reconciled all his differences with his ex-wife when he defeated Cross and became great friends with her again, he and Paxton were now bros for life, Cassie was his literal world and he could now play with her in the park again, and they had managed to rescue Janet van Dyne (whom he, as the kids say today, did definitely "stan"), the new business with Luis was doing amazing after their defeat of Burch, and were even helping Ghost get back to her original form. Hell, he had gone out for dinner with the FBI agent who had been a pain in his butt for so long; now they were best buds!

But he really owed it all to one woman.

Hope van Dyne.

She had absolutely no reason to even like him - a person like her shouldn't even be breathing in his direction. However, the angel decided to have mercy on him, and lend her company to him, and had even gone as far as to become his girlfriend.

Wow... he had really had a turn around of life.

And now, he had recently gone through another one.

This one... he really didn't like it as much.

After all, why else would he now be sitting on the roof of the Avengers tower, looking into the sunset with tears rolling down his face?

To put it plain and simple: Hope... was gone. Both the hope for the future, and _his_ Hope for_ his _future.

And so was Hank... Janet... so many others...

Scott Lang was a positive guy. He still was. But... the first _was _held a deeper meaning now.

Especially as he reflected on their last day before it went down...

* * *

_**April 27th, 2018**_

The Lang family (well, Scott and Cassie at least) seemed to have adopted a new tradition ever since Hope had come into their little family - it was called "Cheap Night".

It happened a week after Scott took Hope out to a fancy dinner - to try and stabilize his efforts to spoil Hope (it was slowly working... very slowly...), the aforementioned woman had created a new tradition to lessen her guilt: a week after a fancy dinner date, they would eat cheap microwaveable dinners and watch a trashy movie that was so bad it was good. Of course, Scott didn't see the double meaning of it, and by the time he did, he was so in love with Cheap Night that he didn't have the courage to try and stop it.

And of course, Cassie had been welcomed into their cheap night tradition ever since she learned it meant spending more time with her dad, and Hope, whom she loved dearly.

As of this Cheap Night, Hope was just grabbing her microwaved pizza out of the machine, and making her way over to the couch. Scott and Cassie were already there, and she took her seat next to Cassie.

"How are you all tonight?" Hope asked, smiling at the two she was sitting next to.

"I feel great!" Cassie smiled. "How do you feel, daddy?"

"In the presence of the two most important girls of my life? I'll let it be left as a surprise," Scott shrugged, but letting out a tiny smirk.

"Oh Scott," Hope said, rolling her eyes. "What are we watching tonight?"

Scott pulled up the Netflix.

"No." both of the girls said simultaneously.

"We all agreed to watch a stupid movie!" Scott laughed. "And this is as bad and stupid as it gets. Yes."

Hope sighed, and Cassie followed in her newest hero's actions.

"Fine," Hope said.

"It might be so dumb we'll laugh at the awfulness," Cassie said, trying to be optimistic.

"There's my girls," Scott smiled.

Scott was so silly - he was serious when necessary, but he always found a way to lighten the mood. And that's one of many things she loved about him.

Anyway, the movie was bad as usual - but it did get some good laughs out of the little group gathered on the couch. When it was over, Cassie kissed both her dad and Hope goodnight, and sleepily walked off to her bedroom. Scott then cuddled closer to Hope, and sighed.

"You okay, Scott?" asked Hope.

"Yeah... I've just been thinking," Scott said, "now that I'm off house arrest..."

"Yes?" Hope nodded, listening intently.

"I... I was wondering... what if we moved? Like, to some place where I could still afford it... where we could both live comfortably... where Cassie would be able to not worry about anyone recognizing her dad as Ant-Man..."

"Oh, Scott," Hope said, rubbing his shoulder. "If you want to move because you're scared, don't. Please. This home is perfect... I couldn't ask for one better. However, if you wanted to move because you felt it was a good time to... I'm down with whatever you want to do."

"No no, its not like that," Scott said, "I just... I feel like we need a more permanent place. This feels like a prep home for our future - where we're not able to access our true powers as a couple."

That got a good, goofy giggle out of Hope. It was well intended, and she thought Scott's comment was cute.

"Well... I do agree. We could use a bit more room... but don't stress about it now, babe. Not while you've got a daughter and the company to worry about on your mind."

"And you too," he added.

"Scott, you've got no reason to worry about me," she smiled.

"Uh, yes I do," said Scott. "You're my girlfriend and we go on dangerous missions... I know you're a badass, but I always worry for you."

Hope kissed his cheek, smiling softly. "Well, you need never worry about me when we're at home... let's get to bed. Tomorrow night, we can discuss it more."

"Sounds good,' smiled Scott, scooping Hope up in his arms.

And with that, they headed off to bed, ready for a busy day tomorrow.

They had no idea that this would be their only conversation they ever had about their future...

* * *

"Scott?"

"Oh, hey Cap," said Scott, wiping away his tears as he tried to appear optimistic. "Oh, Clint, Natasha... Hey guys."

"We, uh... we heard about Hope," said Steve, sitting next to Scott. "Hank and Janet too."

"We're so sorry, Scott," said Natasha sadly.

Scott sniffled lightly. "I... I didn't even get to say goodbye... I was trapped in there for hours, days... _days. _You have no idea how scared I was. I couldn't hear her voice - my one source of comfort in that wasteland. She..."

Scott pulled his knees up to forehead, and Steve sadly put his arm around the Ant-Man. Natasha put her hand on his back, and Clint took a seat next to Natasha.

"I-I don't even know if my daughter's safe..." Scott whispered, choking lightly.

"I watched as my whole family turned to dust," sighed Clint. "Just... just gone. I don't know if I could bear not knowing if they were okay or not."

"You're so strong, Scott," Natasha said. "You've held up so well. Don't feel ashamed to cry. We've all cried lately... I don't think you could count how many tears I've cried lately..."

"We lost friends; we lost family," Steve said. "But we have to have faith that we can get them back."

This line gave Scott something he hadn't had since April 28th, 2018...

Hope.

Not his Hope. Not the one he wanted. Not the one he wanted to hug... to hold... to kiss... to reassure her that he would never let her go...

But the one he needed for now. For the present, and the future.

He looked up, wiped his eyes and cheeks, and then stood up on his feet.

"I'm going to get her back," he said, looking out onto the sunset as it fled behind the green-peaked mountains. "With whatever it takes."

"We will get her back," Steve nodded. "I promise you."

Suddenly, Rhodey walked up onto the roof, looking a bit optimistic - something they all needed. "We've got a pin on the final pieces needed to start making our new suits for the Quantum Realm voyage."

"Where are they?" asked Steve.

"Government facility," Rhodey sighed, his expression dropping. "And even with 3.5 billion people gone from the face of the earth, politicians are still politicians. Not gonna just give it to a couple of fugitives."

Scott then took everyone by surprise.

"Then we take it."

"Old habit, Lang?" asked Clint. "Or... or are you being serious?"

"I'm being serious," Scott said. "I told you that I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get Hope back. If I've gotta steal to do so, then let it be that way."

"Then suit up," Rhodey said, "Scott, Rocket, and I will go get it from that facility. We should be enough to break in."

Scott nodded, and walked off with the War Machine to go get his suit on.

He was ready to get his girl back.

You see, Scott Lang was an optimistic guy.

_Was._

Now, until he got Hope back, and knew his daughter was safe and could rest easy at night, he was something different...

He was mad.

He was determined.

He was a man on a mission.

And all be damned if he didn't finish it...

* * *

**I'm gonna make a Part 2 to this, don't worry! :) I'm also gonna make a Part 3! Part 2 will be the warehouse break-in, and Part 3 will be the LangDyne reunion we all deserve. Get ready to shed some tears at that one guys. :') **

**To lighten the mood of Part 2 a little bit, we'll get some good Scott/Rhodey bro moments, as well as a healthy Rocket/Rhodey bromance dose lol. See you guys next chapter! :D **


End file.
